Yaroslavsky Station

Yaroslavsky mainline railway station – Moscow

Moscow Yaroslavsky railway station (Russian: Ярославский вокзал) is one of the nine main railway stations in Moscow. Situated on Komsomolskaya Square (close to the Kazansky and Leningradsky Stations), Moscow Yaroslavskaya has the highest passenger throughput of all nine of the capital’s main-line termini. It serves eastern destinations, including those in the Russian Far East, being the western terminus of the world’s longest railway line, the Trans-Siberian. The station takes its name from that of the ancient city of Yaroslavl which, lying 284 rail kilometres (176 miles) north-east of Moscow, is the first large city served by the line.

Text above from Wikipedia.

The Yaroslavsky mainline railway station in Moscow is not only the busiest of the capital’s rail hubs it is also one of the most interesting architecturally. The present building was built to replace the original 19th century station in the first decade of the 20th, therefore before the October Revolution of 1917 and the influences of the new socialist society upon architecture and decoration.

Yaroslavsky Station – early 20th century

The architect of the new building was Fyodor Schechtel, who was also responsible for other Art Nouveau buildings in Moscow.

The station is an example of Russian Art Nouveau (which, until recently, I didn’t even know existed). When compared with buildings constructed in other European countries at the same period, i.e., the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, it is possible to see the connections. Each ‘national’ art nouveau shared certain conceptions (mainly the connection to nature) but with specific aspects which were derived from the individual national culture and tradition. (To compare with examples of ‘modernismo’ in Catalunya follow some of the links on the Catalunya/Catalonia page.)

Yaroslavsky Station – 02

What might surprise some people is that when the Soviet state wanted to put it’s own ‘stamp’ on the building this was not at the expense of what had been originally created in the pre-revolutionary period.

Having not seen a comprehensive photographic record of what the building looked like prior to 1917 it is not possible to say if certain modernist decoration might have been removed to allow for that favoured under the artistic influence of Socialist Realism. Also, I’m not aware of the level of damage that might have been caused by the Nazi invasion of the Great Patriotic War and the level of reconstruction that might have been needed following the victory over German fascism. Such reconstruction would have made it easier to choose between restoration of the original decoration of the 1910s and the creation of new decorative panels which included Soviet imagery.

Yaroslavsky Station – 04

However the decoration evolved it is clear that there was a respect for the original images, even though they might have been considered as ‘bourgeois art’. The various mosaics/tiles on the exterior seem to have been kept as they would have been in 1910 and they, and the bas reliefs of animals and representations of nature from the Yaroslavl countryside, are all in very good condition. In fact all the decoration on the outside of the building is in a very good condition.

If the original imagery, for example, those which made reference to the Tsarist period, have been removed and replaced with those more fitting to a Socialist society then it was carried out in a very sympathetic and, at least to my eye, seamless manner.

Yaroslavsky Station – 03

However, there are two areas, at the very top of the building, where an obvious removal and replacement has taken place.

In the centre of the ridge crest on top of the very steep hip roof, immediately above the principal entrance, there used to be a double-headed eagle – the symbol of the imperial court. This has been replaced by a hammer and sickle (the symbol of the Soviet Union) with the letters ‘CCCP’ for Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Yaroslavsky Station – 01

And at the very summit of the broach spire, to the left of the main entrance when looking from the street, there would have been a Christian cross which was later replaced by a star, another symbol of the Soviet state.

Whereas the exterior has been treated well and every effort made to retain what had previously been created the same cannot be said about the interior. The ticket hall and waiting area has been completely remodelled and the original decoration, if it wasn’t maliciously vandalised or removed, is now hidden behind antiseptic and anodyne modern facades. Looking at the building from the outside you can only be in Russia from the inside you could be anywhere in the ‘homogenised and globalised’ world, including the ubiquitous fast food outlets.

(However, western sanctions against Russia has had a positive effect in this area as American multinational fast food outlets have been seriously curtailed (yet not entirely eliminated – for reasons I don’t understand) so no McDonald’s – although Burger King still hangs in there for some reason – and the KFC concession to the right of the main entrance was closed when I visited the station in the summer of 2024 although open in its location opposite the Kievskaya metro station.)

However, immediately inside the main entrance the original decoration (mainly art nouveau) is still visible. This is the area which is very different from what it would have been even 20 or 30 years ago as this is the location of the obligatory security check of person and luggage. The presence of a number of security personnel resulted in one of them relieving her boredom by telling me it was not permissible to take photos so there are a limited number of pictures from the interior in the slide show below.

Yaroslavsky Station – 05

But time moves on. In rejecting the Soviet past and with the Tsarist past having far too many negative memories of feudalism the only way the modern rulers of Russia have of maintaining control of the population is by promoting the culture of superstition and ignorance. For that reason you will encounter a limited amount of religious imagery in all the mainline stations, mainly through the artifice of a small chapel and/or small shop selling religious tat.

Architect;

Fyodor Schechtel

Location;

5 Komsomolskaya Square

GPS;

55.776°N

37.658°E

Gori – Rediscovered statues of Joseph Stalin

For those of us who bemoan the fact that the statues of Comrade Joseph Stalin – who used to stand proud in most towns and cities of the Soviet Union before he was attacked by the arch Revisionist, Nikita Khrushchev, at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956 – are now few and far between will be pleased to learn that he can still be found in a place of honour in the town of his birth, Gori, in Georgia.

Long after Khrushchev’s denunciation; the fall of the arch Revisionist himself; the years of betrayal of the principles of the Great October Socialist Revolution; the all-round restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union; the ludicrous involvement in Afghanistan; the eventual fall of the Soviet Union as an entity; the break-up of the union of constituent states; and the leadership of a once proud workers State that had defeated the power of German Nazism being led by a vodka sodden buffoon a statue of Comrade Stalin still stood in the square that bore his name in the centre of Gori.

That was until the Georgian people were foolish enough to elect a similar buffoon, perhaps less vodka sodden but one who was determined to be the most enthusiastic brown nose to the capitalist west, who, on 24th June 2010, in the dead of night, sent in a crew who removed the 17m statue in opposition to the wishes of the people of the town.

I was unable to definitively discover where it is now or what has been its fate. Local people told me they had no idea where it is but someone knows and now that the Georgian buffoon who ordered its removal (Mikheil Saakashvili) is now wanted in his own country to answer for other crimes during his Presidency I see no reason why Uncle Joe shouldn’t be cleaned up and brought back home.

But then Georgia wants into the European Union. Like so many ‘countries’ and Nationalist political parties that value and are proud of their ‘independence’ (such as Albania, the SNP in Scotland, Plaid Cymru in Wales, Sinn Fein in Ireland) they want to hand everything over to the un-elected functionaries in Brussels. And the EU would look down upon a country, like Georgia, making an independent decision such as to choose who to have standing in the squares of their cities.

So the fate of the big statue is uncertain.

As a response to the removal of the big statue (an empty plinth still ready and waiting for its return) a smaller one was erected facing the entrance to the Stalin Museum, at the back of the building in which Joseph was born.

I personally don’t like this statue. It’s a little more than life size and made of stone. It’s not a particularly good likeness and the pose is all wrong. He’s standing with his right hand on top of a book (of his own writings – which I stated in my post with videos and images from the Stalin Museum would never be the case) which is resting on waist high stump of a tree trunk. Now who have you ever seen in such a pose in real life? It’s more something that was produced to represent a poet during the Romantic period, following a neo-classical, Greek tradition. Added to that he’s looking dreamily into the distance and he has his left hand in his trouser pocket. That’s not Stalin. And it’s certainly not Socialist Realist Art.

He should be depicted as determined to push through measures that promote the development of Socialism. He should be carrying a copy of a newspaper and if a book it should be tucked under his arm as if he was going to refer to something in it at a meeting. He should be presented as if he were speaking to a meeting, making an argument. He should be shown sure and steadfast. This statue outside the Museum to the great man says nothing.

However, all is not lost for those who want to see the real Stalin. For in Gori the visitor has two opportunities to do so – although they appear to be two different versions of the same pose – perhaps one the original plaster master and the other the final result in bronze.

Stalin in Akhalbagi

The bronze version stands just a little inside the big park (Akhalbagi) on the western edge of the town centre, just to the south of the Gori Public Service Hall, the main market and the bus station. The park also houses the city stadium.

He’s dressed in his normal military style uniform on top of which he is wearing a full length overcoat which is unbuttoned. His right arm hangs down straight by his side but his left arm is bent as he is holding a folded newspaper or document in his left hand. Although the style is different there are similarities in the pose with the sculptures of Stalin that are behind the National Art Gallery in Tirana, Albania.

There’s a plaque (it’s not easy to work out what is written upon it) but there’s the date 1948, presumably when it was created and also when it was installed in the park.

Location and how to find Uncle Joe

The main entrance of Akhalbagi is at the junction of Guramashvili and Amilakhvari. Once inside the set of gates you are faced by a couple of circular fountains. Beyond them you will see the Georgian flag flying from a flag pole before a circular flower garden. In this garden, which is well tended – which is a rarity in Georgian public space – is a tall plinth upon which stands a dignified and determined representation of the former leader of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

GPS

N 41º 58.921′

E 44º 06.182′

Stalin, Gori Railway Station

Stalin in Gori Railway Station

The second one appears to be very similar to the bronze one on the plinth in the park. I say ‘appears’ to be because I wasn’t able to get close enough to make a definite comparison of the two. It’s in a locked waiting room off the main entrance/ticket hall of Gori Railway Station.

Unfortunately I didn’t realise it was there until my train to leave Gori was literally just about to enter the station. I could only take a couple of pictures though the glass and that made it difficult to achieve results that could allow for later investigation. It looks like it’s made of plaster and that indicates to me that it was the model for the eventual bronze version.

I’m also sure that given more time and a little bit of pleading it would have been possible to get someone to open the door to get closer to the statue. What is certain, as can be seen by the picture above, is that the room is pristine. It’s not a room that’s been locked and forgotten about. It must be kept clean on a regular basis and perhaps the main reason it is locked is to make sure that casual visitors don’t make the area dirty. Also the decoration is very recent – with no flaking paint that is even evident in the Stalin Museum and especially the portico over Stalin’s birthplace, which is starting to look seriously neglected.

How to see the statue in Gori Station

If you enter the main station building from the platforms you come into the ticket hall. Once inside the building look to your left and you will see an extended waiting room through the glass doors. There’s a sign that ‘foreigners’ aren’t allowed entry but I assume that is just a translation error which really means anyone not part of the railway staff.

Although I was unable to inspect the statue at the station with the time I would have liked I was happy to have ‘rediscovered’ these two statues – ignored in all the guide books that I’ve seen.